Ride Stride Glide

http://ridestrideglide.wordpress.com/a-message-from-neil/

Sea Kayaking Cornwall have been helping Neil prepare his skills for the epic journey he is about to undertake in aid of Cancer Research in memory of his wife Linda. He will set off from john o groats, and using a bike, open canoe and kayak he will make his way to Lands End in Cornwall. The last section is to be undertake by Sea kayak from Lyme Regis to Lands End.

We hope to find a paddler that could accompany him on the sea kayaking section of the journey. The kayaking section should start in mid July and take around 2 weeks. If you are interested please get in touch with us and we can give you more information on the journey.

Sea Kayaking Cornwall wishes Neil the very best of luck in his challenge and we are looking forward to welcoming him in to Cornish waters.

Good luck from Simon and Jeff

USA Rough Water Symposium

Maine Island Kayak Co in association with Nigel Dennis Kayaks hosted a Rough Water Training Symposium in the warm waters surrounding Point Judith Rhode Island, USA the weekend of Labor Day, August 31st - September 2nd, 2007.

I headed out to run various courses for three days. During the Symposium I ran several clinics, these included: Strokes for moving water environments, Rocks and Ledges and Surf classes. The symposium was a first of its kind aiming at the intermediate to advanced kayaker. The weather was a little too good at times making it hard to find the rough water we were hoping for. However the surf and tide gave us the conditions we needed.

Timing is everything!


When we said rock hopping we didnt mean hop onto a rock!

Rough water landings, training on a calm day.

The event is likely to book up early next year as it reached its maximum this year. Keep an eye on www.maineislandkayak.com and www.seakayakinguk.com for details on next years event.

Thanks for inviting me out and giving me a chance to work with you all.

Simon
For more photos of this event view our gallery here

Iceland Symposium

www.seakayakiceland.com

I would like to start off by saying a huge thank you to both Steini and Rita for looking after me so well. Iceland has amazed me in so many ways. Everyone I have met has welcomed me with open arms and the climate and scenary has passed all of my expectations.

Weather front comming in from the north bringing snow!!

Steini getting a hard time while towing my kayak.

The drive to a location for the 4 star assessment

During the week I have run 3 star and 4 star trainings and assesments. On the saturday of the symposium I had the surprise of being lifted by the helicopter during the rescue demonstration. They helicopter flew up through the snow from Reykjavik. Within minutes of them arriving I was lifted up and was safe in the helicopter. They then took the opportunity to show the town how skillfull they were. With me clinging on for dear life we performed dive bombs stalls, low passes and hovered over loan kayakers till they rolled a few times or swam.

I was told to always do what the locals do while travelling. I never thought that would mean eating a sheeps head at a lunch stop!!

On the sunday they had a sprint and rolling comp. In 2 deg water I found it hard to do even the simplist of rolls.
Before heading back Steini organised a night on a river in the south of the country. Before that we had to take out a group of 37 school kids. What a crazy bunch. Swimming in clothes and loving it! It was great to get out on the river and strange to finish at midnight. I highly recomend to visit iceland for its culture, people, landscape and climate. It is truly a unique country and I hope to visit again soon..

Iceland Symposium

I arrived into a snowy Iceland on Wednesday afternoon. I have never visited Iceland before and have always been facinated since I studied some of its glaciers at University. After driving 3 hours north to Stykkisholmur, home to seakayak iceland and Steini, I quickly realised how amazing this country is. The symposium starts at the weekend and so 5 local paddlers took the oportunity to show me what paddling in Iceland is all about! After 7 hours of paddling into a force 6 headwind we were all shattered. We had a variety of snow and hail along the way to keep us happy. Only two days previous I had been running an intro course with shorts and T shirt on and so the cold hit me hard. During the day I gained even more respect for what Rotem achieved by completing a solo circumnavigation of this country. It is such a remote and spectacular landscape. We spent the night in a small remote house to shelter from the wind and cold. The paddle back took us half the time and we even had time to make a quick trip to the hot baths! The symposium starts in the morning and so an early night to prepare.

SKUK Anglesey Symposium 2007

Our apologies for having been off-line of late, both Simon and I have been away helping out at Nigel Dennis's sea kayak symposium on Anglesey. 2007 has proved to be another good year for sea paddlers at this event, with paddlers represented from many countries from around the globe, this really is proving to be an international gathering. Strong winds meant that access to the iidal races wasn't always possible, but Holy Island as well as the remainder of Anglesey still had much to offer.

Their were over 150 paddlers at this event, and as well as day trips around the island, there were a series of clinics in Incident Management, Rough water paddling, Crash & Bash (or repairs to get you home) and many different brands of kayak on display for people to try.

The event ended with an airborne exercise with the RNLI and Coastguard, evacuating casualties at sea is one of those scenarios none of us would wish to be involved in for real, but training at SKUK has always had an emphasis on reality and Nigel has endeavoured to develop a good working relationship with the local coast guard, valuable experience was gained by all on the water.

The highlight of the symposium for me had to be listening to Rotem Rons presentation on her solo circumnavigation of Iceland. She delivered it in such a humble way it probably didn't impact the audience as it should have done, when you bear in mind that this was being hailed as one of the most dangerous challenges left to sea kayakers and was still being focused on by several of the worlds top expedition paddlers last year, as they stepped down amidst all the hype, in stepped Rotem, no big press releases, she arrived, unheralded, set off solo, and completed it, becoming not only the first person to complete it solo, but she also set a record time too. Anyone interested in hearing her incredible story should contact her through Terra Santa expedition Centre in Israel.

To hell and back

http://www.to-hell-and-back.co.uk/index.php

Follow this link and be amazed at what Olaus is about to attempt. Sea Kayaking Cornwall wishes you Good luck.